Protraction of mandibular second and third molars assisted by partial corticision and miniscrew anchorage

A woman, aged 47 years 6 months, with an anterior open bite and a left-shifted mandible was treated with a mandibular right first molar extraction and without orthognathic surgery. However, her mandibular second molar did not move mesially during treatment because of the dense lamina dura; therefore, corticision was applied only on the mesial aspect of the mandibular second molar, and a miniscrew was inserted simultaneously. Corticision was introduced as a supplemental dentoalveolar surgery in orthodontic therapy to achieve accelerated tooth movement with minimal surgical intervention. In this technique, a reinforced scalpel was used as a thin chisel to separate the interproximal cortices transmucosally without a flap. This technique was applied not to accelerate tooth movement, but to protract the mandibular molars. One miniscrew was inserted on the mesiobuccal side of the mandibular right molar for protraction and intrusion. In addition, 2 miniscrews were inserted in the buccal sides of the maxillary first and second molars and the palatal side of the maxillary first molar to intrude them for correction of the mandibular shift and the cant of the occlusal plane. Excellent occlusion and correction of the anterior open bite were achieved without surgery. At the 2-year follow-up examination, the patient had a good occlusion and showed good stability with no opening of the extraction space. A partial corticision is an effective option for facilitating movement of mandibular molars.